Pio Mercado v. Maria Tan-Lingco

Summary

This landmark 1916 case established that a married woman cannot mortgage her paraphernal property based on general marital permission alone. Rita Raiz Mateo mortgaged thirty-one parcels of land to secure a P2,500 loan from Maria Tan-Lingco, relying on general permission her husband gave in 1905. When the debt grew to P13,000 and she executed a new contract without specific consent, her husband sued to void it. The Supreme Court ruled that Civil Code Article 1387 requires specific marital permission for each mortgage of paraphernal property, as the husband has legal interest in the proceeds which become community property. The decision protects conjugal partnership rights and establishes important precedent on married women's contractual capacity regarding property transactions.